Media

Comprehensive Description

Description

Macropodia tenuirostris is reddish brown in colour and has a triangular shaped shell (carapace) that is very narrow at the frontal region. The length of the carapace is around 3.2 cm and the breadth around 1.1 cm. The surface of the carapace has a smooth to slightly granular texture. The snout (rostrum) is thick, very long and is deflected slightly upwards, with numerous prominent hook-setae (hair like structures). The eyestalks are totally visible from above. Second to fifth pairs of limbs (pereopods) are very thin. The fourth segment (from the tip) of the first walking leg is as long as or longer than the combined length of the carapace and the rostrum. The tip of the second leg is the same length as the carapace. The fourth and fifth legs have moderately curved tips (dactylus). Male chelipeds are large and inflated whereas female chelipeds are slender.The arrangement of spines on the upper surface are diagnostic of species of Macropodia (see Ingle 1980 & 1996 for further details).